As We Would Have Done for You
by SiriusFan13
Summary: It's two days to graduation when the Marauders learn some bad news. The evening graduation ceremony falls on the full moon! Is there a way to fix things so that Moony can attend? Or will fixing the problem only cause more trouble? Read and find out!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing Harry Potter at all. That is all owned by the wonderful J. K. Rowling, who will giving us a new installment in her terrific series soon!

* * *

**As We Would Have Done for You**

It was a beautiful day. The sun streamed down on the multitude of students lounging around the Hogwarts grounds. Sirius Black lay on his back, trying to take in as much sun as he could while still mostly wearing his school uniform. So, the shirt was unbuttoned and open. And the sleeves were rolled up. Honestly, it was still on. And the sun felt good.

James potter was leaning up against a tree beside him, playing with a snitch, and trying to figure out a way he could enchant it to buzz into Snape's hair. He glanced at the greasy Slytherin, who sat several yards away beneath a similar tree. Then he looked down at Sirius, who had rolled over, and flipped his shirt up to get a tan on his back. James raised an eyebrow. "Sirius, you do realize that's disgusting, right? No one wants to be stuck watching you sunbathe."

Sirius turned his head and cracked an eye open to look at his friend. "Right. No one wants to watch me, huh?" He casually jerked his thumb in the direction of a few Ravenclaw girls who'd been eyeing him.

"Clearly they have no taste, Sirius," James quipped. He jabbed Peter, who'd been sitting beside him,messing with a piece of parchment. "Isn't that right, Wormtail?"

The shorter blonde boy looked up. "Huh?" He sent James a puzzled look. "What?" Then he glanced over at Sirius, and made a face. "Aw, come on, Padfoot. Put your bloody shirt on."

Sirius sighed in mock exasperation, and sat up, slowly stretching to show off his muscles one last time to the girls, before buttoning up his shirt. "You know, you two are real spoilsports. If Moony were here, he'd back me you know. _He _knows how to value a little sunlight..." He grinned wickedly. "And he _really_ knows how to value a little moonlight. Speaking of which, we have a fun night coming up, don't we?"

James shook his head. "Don't get excited about it. Full moon is in two days."

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "I'm not supposed to get excited about that? It's the last time we get to have a good romp through the grounds before we graduate. What's _not_ to get excited about?"

James and Peter exchanged looks. "I hope you're joking, Padfoot," James said.

Sirius ran his hand through his long black hair and looked between the two boys. "Er—want to clue me in as to why I'm joking?"

Peter sighed. "You've forgotten, haven't you?"

"Of course not," Sirius snapped. "I don't forget things. I strategically misplace them within the recesses of my mind. It's a simple retrieval problem. I do not _forget_."

"Right..." James said, smirking. "Well, to aide your _retrieval_ problem, how about we remind you what is happening in two evenings."

"Besides the full moon?"

Peter nodded, tucking the parchment into the pocket of his robes, and leaning back. "Besides the full moon."

James threw the snitch at Sirius, forcing his friend to duck out of the way. "You idiot, we graduate in two days. And you _know_ it's an evening celebration."

Sirius' brow furrowed, and he groaned. "Didn't realize that graduation was on the full moon. That explains it, then, doesn't it?" He glanced over at his two friends. When they didn't answer, he continued, leaning forward. "You know... about why Remus isn't here. Why he's been disappearing for the past few days."

Peter looked confused. "I don't get it. How did we go from graduation to Moony?"

James sighed, and patted the smaller boy on the back comfortingly. "You're a great friend, Wormtail... but thinking isn't really your strong point, is it?"

Peter blinked at him. "What?"

Sirius rolled his eyes, and said in a very slow, low voice. "Remus... is... a... werewolf. Graduation is on the full moon. Think about it."

"So?"

Sirius threw up his hands and made a small sound of disgust.

"He can't go," James said softly, the teasing finally gone from his hazel eyes. "The scholar of our group, who's been more excited than _any_ of us to be able to even go to this school won't be able to walk at graduation, because he'll be indisposed during the ceremony."

The blonde boy's eyes widened. "Oh, no!"

Sirius' face was in his hands as he muttered, "Oh, _now_ he gets it." He pointed to Peter. "_That_ is forgetting to its highest extent. I don't do _that_."

Red alert," James suddenly muttered. "Moony's coming."

They all turned toward the school in time to see their pale, thin friend looking for them. Sirius stuck his hand in the air and began frantically waving. "Hey, Moony! We're over here!"

Remus spotted them instantly, his senses overactive due to his upcoming change. The boy trotted over, carrying an armload of books. He flopped onto the grass, next to Sirius, dumping his books onto the ground beside him. He tiredly ran his hand over his pale face. "What did I miss?"

James shrugged. "Nothing much. Just trying to make Padfoot keep his shirt on."

"But it's _hot_."

Remus smiled faintly, but didn't respond.

The teasing faded from Sirius' grey eyes as he watched his friend. "Moony, is something wrong? You look like hell."

"_Sirius_."

"Well, he _does_."

Remus chuckled. "I always look like hell this close to an attack."

Sirius smirked and shook his head. "No, you look a little more like purgatory before an attack. You usually don't look like hell until after one..." He eyed his friend. "But seriously. Are you okay?"

Remus nodded and sighed. "Yeah." He looked around to see all three of his closest friends watching him with concern. A tired smile lit onto his face. "You know, don't you? I mean... you already know what's bothering me..."

James nodded. "Graduation?"

"Yeah," Remus said softly. "I just came from talking with Dumbledore. He and I have been trying to work out something, so I could go, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen."

"_What_?" Sirius growled. "But it's Dumbledore's school He can change things if he wants to."

"No, he can't," Remus replied. "He's tried to at least push it until the following morning, but he can't. He has a lot of power over this school, but when it comes to major traditions like graduation, it's the Council that has the final say, and it has to be an unanimous vote."

"Brutus Malfoy, again?" James growled, his eyes flashing. "You know, I'm really starting to hate that guy more and more."

Remus looked down at the grass, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. "It isn't Malfoy. Apparently, he doesn't care _when_ it is as long as we stop bugging them about it."

There was a long silence before Peter finally said, "Well, if it isn't Malfoy stopping things, then who?"

Remus wouldn't answer.

"It's my dad, isn't it?" Sirius said quietly. "He's on the Council, and he's obsessive about tradition. It's got to be him." The usually cheerful Gryffindor's eyes were pained and guilty looking.

Remus looked up at his friend, startled. "It isn't your fault, Sirius. You aren't your father."

Sirius looked away, unwilling to allow his friends to see his frustration.

"Remus is right," James added. "The Blacks are a bunch of gits. Every last one of them... except for you, of course." He grinned and threw an arm around Sirius, who tried unsuccessfully to brush him off. "You broke from them, Sirius. And if Castor Black wants to act up now, you do _not_ have to feel any responsibility for his actions."

Sirius didn't answer, but he finally relaxed in James' grip, and turned back to look at his friends.

Peter grinned at him. "If it'll make you feel better, we could come up with a wicked prank to play on their seats during graduation. Like a leg-lock, so they get trampled at the end."

James snickered.

Sirius' eyes darkened. "Personally, I'd use an Unforgivable on him, if it wouldn't turn me into one of them."

They fell into an uneasy silence.

He looked toward Remus, finally saying softly. "I know it doesn't help anything. But I'm sorry about him."

Remus shook his head, and leaned forward, putting a hand on Sirius' shoulder. "Don't be, Padfoot." He smiled warmly. "It's just a stupid ceremony. I can miss it. And I'd rather miss it than have you upset over this. Honestly." He looked around at the other two boys. "That goes for all of you. It's okay. I'll be fine."

James narrowed his eyes at his friend. "Are you sure?"

Remus laughed. "Of course I am. Now, do you think maybe after graduation, we'll be able to squeeze in one more run?"

Sirius' face finally lit up again. "Of course we can. I'd rather another run than going to that stupid party anyway. Count me in!"

"Right."

"Definitely."

The four friends were chatting once more, as though nothing had happened.

And no one noticed that the darkness hadn't gone out of Sirius' eyes.

* * *

_Author's Note: Yes, a new Harry Potter story. (And no, it isn't AU, and does not go with _Heir to Slytherin). _As if I don't have enough of these sitting on hiatus right now (and just for your information, no, _Sirius Black and the Heir to Slytherin _is _not_ on hiatus. It's update has been delayed for a number of reasons. One, I'm finally just getting over my Harry Potter writer's block. Two, one of my other (_Kenshin_) stories is so close to being done, that I've been focusing a lot of extra time on it. Three, my roommate and extremely close friend moved out recently. I chose to spend time with her before she moved rather than writing, which slowed all updates (and I feel no guilt in that situation). And finally, I haven't been well lately, which has slowed all updates out of their normal schedule. So sorry. Hopefully _Heir_ will be updated in a few weeks (I know it's been a long time! Sorry!)_

_This story is going up right now (and not going on hiatus) because I have a chapter done, it will be short, and it is one of my roommate's graduation gifts (Moony is her favorite character). I hope you don't mind._

_Final note (and I'm going to be tacking this onto the author's notes of all my stories eventually, I think. I now post original fiction at FictionPress(dot)com. I only have a short story and a poem up so far, but I hope to add more soon. I post under the same penname, SiriusFan13, and the link to my FictionPress bio page can be found on my Fanfiction(dot)net bio page if you click on the part that says "homepage." Please, if you choose to check out my original fiction, I would very much appreciate reviews! Thank you!_

_Anyway, thank you so much for reading._

_Ciao!_


	2. Chapter 2

Sirius had been lying on his back, staring up at the canopy of his bed for the past three hours. He'd tried tossing and turning. Glasses of water. Planning pranks. Tweaking the Marauder's Map. Nothing helped. He couldn't sleep. He was one step away from brewing himself a sleep potion, but he had a feeling that even _that_ wouldn't help.

He sighed, finally getting up and walking over to James' bed. "Hey, Prongs," Sirius whispered.

No response.

He stuck his head in the draperies. James was out like a light. "Prongs," he hissed again.

Nothing.

Sirius shook his head, and walked back to his bedstand. He scooped his wand up and after walking back to James' bed, poked the wand in, muttering quietly, "_Enervate._"

"WHA--!" James practically fell out of his bed and the consciousness-inducing spell worked its magic. He snapped the draperies back and shot a deadly glare at his best friend. "What the bloody hell was that about, Padfoot? Were you trying to _kill_ me?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "No. That would have been _Avada Kedavra_. I know my spells. We need to talk."

James rubbed some of the remaining sleep from his eyes. "Talk?" He looked like he still wanted to be angry, but it was so rare for Sirius to want to talk, especially with such a dark expression on his face, that concern won out over vengeance.

Sirius nodded. "Yeah... talk. I'm gonna get Wormtail. Major issues. Meet you in the common room."

James noted just how serious his friend appeared, and he nodded, standing up. "Alright. I'll get Moony."

"No."

He stared at Sirius. "What?"

Sirius looked uncomfortable. "This is about Remus," he said softly. "He won't like what I want to discuss. I'd rather not tell him if possible."

"Graduation."

One solemn nod. "I'll get Wormtail, James. Meet us in the common room."

There was no argument this time.

Five minutes and one more _enervate_ spell later, the three boys were seated in front of a comfortable fire in the Gryffindor common room. This wasn't the first time they'd snuck around when they were supposed to be in bed. And this certainly wasn't the first time they had hidden something from someone, but there was something disconcerting about hiding anything from Moony. They all could feel the empty space where their friend should have been, and it discomforted them.

"Now," James started, breaking the silence. "What's all this about, Sirius?"

Peter yawned. Even with the _enervate_ spell, he was only barely conscious.

"We need to do something about graduation."

That woke Peter up. _"What?"_ he asked, blinking his eyes open. "Padfoot, did I just hear you right? Did you just say we need to 'do something' about graduation?"

James shook his head. "That's ridiculous. What could _we _do? Even _Dumbledore_ couldn't change anything for Moony. How are three students supposed to fix things?"

Sirius glared at them. "If I knew that, I wouldn't have bothered waking you up, would I have?" He shifted his moody glare to the fire. "But we have to do _something_. This is Moony we're talking about. He'd do anything for any one of us. If we don't even try to fix this for him, what kind of friends are we?" He fell silent for a moment, just staring at the crackling fire before adding softly. "And if _I_ don't try something, what kind of person am I?"

James sighed in frustration. "Sirius, for the thousandth time, _it isn't your fault_. Stop trying to take the rap for everything your family does. They aren't your responsibility."

"I _know_ that, but..." He sighed. "But there has to be something that I can do."

Peter had been quietly watching the exchange, but now he timidly spoke up. "Sirius, did you think of just talking to your dad? I mean, so they don't like you much..."

"They hate him."

"I got burned off the family tree. Andromeda told me."

James raised his eyebrows. "Impressive. I guess you were the _black mark_ on the family," he quipped.

Sirius managed a weak smile. "Yeah... the black sheep... or would I be the white sheep in the flock?"

James grinned. "I'd say you're more the only sheep in a pack of wolves."

Peter joined in again, "And speaking of wolves... back to the main point..."

Sirius' expression darkened again. "Right... Moony."

Peter shifted in his seat uncomfortably. This sort of planning really wasn't his thing. In fact, they often left a lot of the planning to Moony. He took a deep breath. "I was just thinking that maybe if you asked them. You know... nicely or something. Gave them a good argument. Explained the situation... Maybe your dad would let Dumbledore move graduation forward a bit..."

His suggestion was greeted with silent stares from the other two boys.

"What?" he asked softly, sinking a bit into his chair. He hated when they stared at him like that. Like he'd said something spectacularly stupid.

Sirius sighed. "Wormtail, have I ever told you about my dear Uncle Pollux Black?" he asked, adding by way of explanation, "That would by my dad's brother."

The heavy blonde boy shook his had warily. "Er—no... I don't think so..."

Sirius nodded. "Well, Uncle Pollux was my dad's favorite brother. He was really influential just about everywhere. The Ministry. The Council. _Everywhere_. He helped to get a lot of laws passed through the Ministry."

Peter shook his head. "I don't understand. What does that have to do with—?"

"Uncle Pollux's most famous law that he, thank God, didn't manage to slide through was the one where he tried to legalize hunting werewolves for sport." Sirius' expression was pained. "Not just that, he thought at very least, if hunting wasn't allowed, that they should be rounded up and sold as _pets._ Uncle Pollux figured they could double as unpaid servants when they were human. I believe his exact words were, 'It isn't like the brutes are good for anything else. They're like the little bastard children of indecent people and animals.'" The expression on Sirius' face was like one who had just swallowed something really foul. His eyes were so angry, they nearly burned.

Peter's eyes were so wide, they looked like they were going to fall out of his head. "Someone actually _said_ that?"

Even James' jaw had dropped at that last statement. "That's... that's... that's _sick!_ It's... it's just..." He kept sputtering, unable to come up with words that were appropriately harsh enough to denounce the man.

"Disgusting," Sirius finished for him. "I recall getting into an argument about it with him. Called him some colorful phrases myself, and implied that werewolves were at least more human than he was." Sirius managed a small, dark smile. "He disinherited me. Like I'd want anything from _him_." He shook his head. "No, Wormtail... Explaining the situation to my family will pretty much guarantee nothing but possibly getting Moony kicked out of school. Not an option."

James was fiddling with his wand. "Well, then what can we do? All we're really good for are pranks. And it isn't like we can _prank _them into submission."

At his words, Sirius' eyes lit up. "That's it! We'll prank them into submission!"

James and Peter exchanged worried looks, convinced that Sirius had finally lost his mind. "Er—Sirius... and how exactly do you expect us to do that? Set up stink potions in the Council chamber before a meeting?"

Sirius laughed and stood up, beginning to pace as he always did when he was excited about something. "Of course not. We'd never even make it to the Council Chamber."

James sighed. "Well, at least you're being a _little_ bit rational, Padfoot."

Sirius was grinning. "We'll do all the pranks right here. Who needs to mess with the Council. We just need to affect their decision. The whole reason the Council doesn't want to change the date is because of tradition, right? They're really big on tradition." He rounded on them suddenly, startling both boys. "So we mess things up. Everything has to work a certain way. Special robes. Special food. And banners and music. If anything isn't right, they're going to fuss until it _is_, because otherwise it'll mess up the tradition..."

Peter was still looking a little scared of the slightly wild-eyed Gryffindor pacing in front of them, but James was starting to catch on to Sirius' plan. "Oh," he said, grinning mischievously. "So we mess things up as badly as possible. They'll be so busy running around trying to fix everything that they won't be able to start on time and have everything right."

Sirius nodded. "_Exactly_. And which is worse... Just pushing off Graduation for a day or so, or having _everything_ else screwed up?"

"It _has_ to work."

"But we can't let Moony know," Sirius said.

James laughed. "Of course we can't. Moony'd kill us if he knew we were going to tamper with anything _this_ major, even for him."

Sirius nodded. "_Especially_ for him."

Peter yawned again. "Okay... so, it sounds like we've got a plan," he said a little sleepily. "Do you think we could work out the details tomorrow at breakfast? Because if we stay up and talk about this much longer, I'm going to be useless..."

"You're always useless, Wormtail," James kidded.

Peter shot a glare at him. "Whatever," he muttered. "I'm going to bed, guys. If you're going to stay up and plan, just let me know what's going on in the morning. I'm in, whatever it is."

Sirius just nodded. "Okay. See you at the breakfast."

As the two boys finished their planning, Peter made his way up to the bedroom.

* * *

Remus lay in bed, listening to Peter make his way into bed. James and Sirius were still downstairs doing something. When he'd noticed them missing, he'd slipped out of bed and had made his way to the stairs, expecting that they'd tried to wake him up, but he'd been dead to the world. It wouldn't have been the first time his lycanthropy wore him out like that just before a change. 

But when he'd made it to the top of the stairs, he'd heard Sirius talking, and had been unable to join them. He'd just turned around and gone back to bed.

_Bastard children of indecent people and animals?_ Remus buried his head under his pillow. _Could Sirius really have said that? Was there any possible way that he'd misheard?_ He took a deep, painful breath. _No. That was exactly what he'd said. And if James was still down there..._

He winced. "_What did I do? I must have done _something_ to upset them... but what?" _He could feel tears coming to his eyes, but he tried to hold them back. _"What would make him say that?"_

Remus was still awake hours later when James and Sirius finally made their way back to their beds.

He didn't say a word, letting them think he was still asleep.

What was there to say?

* * *

_Author's Note: To honor book 6 finally coming out, I've decided to update ALL of my Harry Potter fics. So, here is this story's update. I still haven't had a chance to read book 6 yet, but I'm planning on starting it tonight! (Very excited about that). ALL of my fics are post Goblet of Fire and Pre-Half-Blood Prince. Most acknowledge elements of Order of the Phoenix without following the story, because all but this one were started before book 5 came out. Yes, I'm that pathetic that I've been working on these stories for that long... (sighs) Anyway, thanks for reading. Please review!_


	3. Chapter 3

**As We Would have Done for You**

Her voice had been floating toward them in monotone waves for almost an hour now. "…The animuagus transformation is one of the most difficult and potentially deadly transfiguration spells…"

Sirius missed most of the rest of McGonagall's spiel while he yawned, trying to pry his eyes open. He then slumped back in his seat, trying to find a position just uncomfortable enough to keep him conscious. He and James had been up most of the night planning, scrapping and re-planning a multitude of pranks designed to throw off the entire rhythm and structure of the graduation ceremony. It had been tedious work, something neither of them had expected to have to worry about only days before graduation. Everything had to be perfect. If they failed, not only would Moony kill each and every one of them for interfering, but also they ran the risk of someone figuring out the reason behind the mayhem, which in turn could risk their own graduations, and more importantly risk Remus' well-being.

McGonagall's steady voice droned on. "…Only the most studious and skilled witches and wizards can even dream of becoming animagi..."

He yawned again. _Why was she still talking? Class would be over in five minutes. And they were all seventh years. She _had_ to know that they didn't care…_

WHAP!

Sirius almost fell out of his chair, completely awake and alert. He stared wide-eyed up at the stern professor who had somehow managed to make her way directly next to his seath without his knowledge. His eyes then dropped back down to the wand she had slapped onto the desk only an inch from his hand.

His eyes shot back up to meet her sharp green ones. "Napping, Mr. Black?" she asked softly. She didn't appear angry, which Sirius recognized to be a bad sign. He needed to rectify the situation. Quickly.

Sirius ignored the tittering of giggles around him. He struggled to regain his composure, making direct eye contact, and slipping on his most charming smile. "Of course not, professor," he responded, smoothly. "How could I ever sleep through one of your lectures? Your ideas inspire me. I was just lulled into a trance by that sweet voice of yours…"

He could hear Peter retching behind him, only slightly muffled by James' gasps for breath.

McGonagall's face hadn't changed, except perhaps, for a slight twitch to her eyebrow. "It is precisely that ability to be lulled into a stupor, Mr. Black," she replied, "that demonstrates how unlikely it is that you will ever achieve the skill of an animagus."

James choked again, this time earning a sharp glare from the professor. "Potter, go get a drink," she snapped, pointing him to the door. She didn't say a word until he slipped out of his seat and began walking away. She then graced Sirius with the smallest of smiles. "I was going to take points from your house, but I suspect it's unfair to blame you for something you can't help… Lately, a stupor seems to be your permanent state."

She turned away finally, motioning to the board with her wand so that a lengthy assignment appeared where there had once been notes. She began explaining the assigned readings and essays as Sirius slumped back in his seat. That was all he'd needed. To get detention and completely ruin all of their carefully laid plans.

James slipped back into the classroom a few minutes later, flipping a tiny piece of parchment onto Sirius' desk before slipping into his own seat.

Sirius straightened, snatching up the small note before the professor noticed, and carefully opening it on his lap when her back was turned. His grey eyes scanned the page. It was a short note:

"_Grab Peter at the bell. We'd better start right away if we don't want you to blow our chances before we even get started. We'll meet at the trophy room._

_Prongs"_

Sirius crumpled the paper back up, and when McGonagall turned her back again, tossed it into the nearby rubbish bin.

Finally McGonagall deemed them learned enough to leave, and so, dismissed them.

Sirius and James snatched Peter on the way out of class and dragged him toward the trophy room. The walk took longer than usual, considering they were forced to walk against the crowds who were on their way to lunch.

"We're going to miss lunch," the heavyset blonde pouted as they turned a corner into an empty corridor, and finally reached the large oak door of the trophy room.

James scowled, and replied. "Now isn't the time to be thinking of food. We need to start pranking right away if this plan is going to have a chance. We only have a day and a half." Sirius just opened the door and dragged them both into the room.

Peter sighed, ignoring his growling stomach. "Fine. But I wish you'd have warned me this morning. I'd have eaten a bigger breakfast…" He trailed off at James' glare.

Sirius tuned him out entirely, shutting the door firmly and handing over a scrap of parchment to him. "We need to split up and do things individually if we're going to make anything work. Those are your tasks. Nothing too hard. James and I kept the more delicate stuff for ourselves."

Peter opened his paper. His brow furrowed as he read the list. "There's a lot of stuff on here," he griped. "Why can't we just do it all together?"

"Because we don't have time," James growled.

"Anyway," Sirius added, "we need to keep Moony distracted or he's gong to suspect something's up."

"Like he isn't already going to," James commented lightly.

"Where's he _been_ today, anyway?" asked Peter, tucking the parchment into his transfiguration book. "He keeps disappearing. I mean, I _know_ I saw him in class, but by the time you two were dragging me through the halls, he was gone."

Sirius shrugged. "We obviously lost him before he could follow us. What can I say? We're excellent at stealth. Isn't that right, Prongs?" He looked expectantly toward his best friend, waiting for the quick affirmative that was sure to follow.

It didn't.

James appeared uneasy, his hazel eyes worried. "Actually, Sirius, I was wondering the same thing," he said softly. "He didn't even eat with us this morning. You don't think he overheard us last night, do you? I mean, he's going to be _mad_ if he finds out what we're up to."

"He'll deal with it," Sirius replied shortly, drawing the startled gaze form the other two boys. He leaned back against the cold stone wall, crossing his arms defiantly as though Remus were right there arguing with him. "We're his friends, right?"

James and Peter exchanged wary glances, unsure as to where Sirius was going with this. Hesitantly they both nodded.

"Of course, Padfoot—" James started.

"Well, then, friends do stuff to each other with or without their permission… especially if it can help."

James finally cracked an understanding smile. "Ah… such courageous words… You still don't think he heard us, do you?"

Sirius grinned, breaking the tension. "Of course not. I'd be scared shitless if I thought he knew. He's the worst of all of us when he wants to be. And that's saying something. He was out like a light last night. I checked before we left, and he was still asleep when we got back to bed. There's nothing to worry about from his end. Not yet at least."

Peter just stared at them, not even attempting to follow this "logic."

"So we pull our pranks as planned," Sirius said, getting back to business. His dark eyes flashed. "Moony will never even have to know it was us." He smirked. "This werewolf rubbish has gone on long enough. If Dumbledore won't do anything, we will."

James opened his mouth to reply when a crash sounded from behind an old statue down the at the opposite end of the large room. The three boys immediately fell silent, straining their eyes for the source of the sound.

Moments later, a large black cat with glowing eyes scuttled down from the partially opened door at the opposite end of the room, hissing fiercely at them.

Peter sighed in relief as Sirius bared his teeth at the offending creature. It slunk away.

James laughed unsteadily, breaking the tension. "Only Emma. We'd have been done for if it had been Filch instead of his cat." He glanced around, still appearing uneasy. "We should go before our luck runs out."

Peter nodded empathetically, his blue eyes wide and startling in his pale face.

Sirius grumbled a few threats of Padfoot eating the cat before he nodded in agreement and the trio hurried off to what remained of their lunch.

Remus slumped behind the door, relieved. This near to the full moon, animals were generally terrified of him. He should have checked to be sure Emma wasn't in the area. He'd been lucky. That blasted cat had almost given him away. As it was, he'd missed almost all of the conversation trying to placate the vicious thing before it began its trademark yowling to announce his presence…

He peeked out again around the statue he'd been hiding behind just to be certain that the other boys were gone, then slumped back against the wall, pressing his face into his hands.

He may not have heard everything, but he'd heard enough.

"Werewolf rubbish, am I?" Remus muttered darkly, trying to suppress the encroaching wave of depression with his anger. For once refusing to allow his rational side to talk him out of doing anything stupid. Why bother? "So they want to prank me away from them, do they?" He snorted softly, finally standing up and brushing himself off.

"Fine. If I'm such an irritation to them, then let them pull their little pranks… two can play at that game…"

* * *

_Author's Note: Sorry about the long wait between chapters. I hope you enjoy this anyway, though._

_Thanks for reading. Please review._

_Sirius_


End file.
